" I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen.
Not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." C. S. Lewis

Est. May 2008

10 January, 2013

Another Win For Sin

So, Georgia pastor Louis Giglio was asked by the Obama Administration to deliver the benediction at this year’s Inauguration.That lasted until a sermon he preached somewhere around two decades ago surfaced, after which Pastor Giglio caved in and bowed out.

What in the world could that sermon have been about, that would have caused this kind of turn-around?Well, it was a sermon which sinned against one of our modern cardinal virtues, folks.

Homosexuality.

Josh Israel of Think Progress called the sermon ‘vehemently anti-gay’ and the pastor’s ‘views on homosexuality, including his position that it is a sin and comparable to alcoholism, to be "most disturbing."’;Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon.com called the sermon ‘troubling’:

"It's been almost 20 years since he made those comments and a lot has changed in the country's attitude toward homosexuality since then, so it's possible his attitudes have changed as well," wrote Seitz-Wald.

So, Mr. Seitz-Wald, if Pastor Giglio’s position on homosexuality had changed, would you give him permission to give the benediction?How gracious of you, Mr. Gatekeeper-of-Morals.

Of course biblically-derived views on homosexuality are ‘disturbing’ and ‘troubling’; in fact, it makes complete sense that any biblically-based views on what we call ‘sins’ are ‘disturbing’ and ‘troubling’ to those who wish to just continue on in them.I’m positive the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the Herodians, and the teachers of the law were disturbed and troubled when Jesus called them out on their wrong beliefs and practices – I mean, after all, they killed Him for it.In fact, I know Jesus caused a lot of disturbance and troubling of a lot of people when He was on earth, and He still does today; that’s part and parcel of the faith we call Christianity, and part and parcel of being a Christian.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Giglio's decision to withdraw was the right one.

"Participants in the inaugural festivities should unite rather than divide. Choosing an affirming and fair-minded voice as his replacement would be in keeping with the tone the president wants to set for his inaugural," Griffin said in a statement.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Griffin here.All Pastor Giglio’s withdrawal signals is that Christianity once again gave in to the forces of sin.And the words ‘affirming and fair-minded voice’ are nothing but a euphemism for ‘somebody who refuses to call sin a sin’.IMO, Pastor Giglio should have stuck to his guns and waited until the Obama Administration officially rescinded their invitation; then the argument could have been made that ‘One the Administration discovered I didn’t hold to the same ideology they did, they told me to get lost, thus adding one more piece of evidence that this current Administration is as Godless as it can get away with’.

Giglio represents a new type of evangelical leader who "doesn't like to get involved in the culture war because it blurs the larger points he wants to make," said Michael Cromartie, the vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.

Sorry, but Christianity is countercultural, and always has been; it has always been involved in the ‘culture-war’ whether it likes it or not.

"It's unfortunate that this kind of political correctness doesn't allow people who are doing great work to pray at inauguration," [Cromartie ] added.

Let’s get past the idea that this is ‘political correctness’, folks, because it’s more than that; it’s a direct assault on God and His Word.